Should teachers and students be Facebook friends?

Matthew AlbrightStaff Writer

Saturday

Apr 21, 2012 at 12:01 AMApr 21, 2012 at 11:42 PM

Websites like Facebook and Twitter are part of many Americans' lives, but school systems locally and nationwide are drawing the line when it comes to online social networking between teachers and students.

Websites like Facebook and Twitter are part of many Americans' lives, but school systems locally and nationwide are drawing the line when it comes to online social networking between teachers and students.Dawn Trahan, an eighth-grade teacher at Evergreen Junior High in Houma, says that's fine with her.“I care about my students tremendously, and I know many of them try to befriend teachers on Facebook, but I absolutely won't,” she said. “Not only does our district not allow it, but as an adult, I would like to have my personal life remain personal.”Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes' public school systems have policies that forbid teachers from making any kind of electronic contact with students unless they have express permission from a principal or other administrator. That includes not just Facebook, but also texts and emails. “If, say, the cheerleading sponsor wants to send out a text letting her girls know that practice is canceled, she can do that, as long as she gets the text approved by her principal,” said Terrebonne school superintendent Philip Martin.Martin said the rules exist to prevent even the appearance of impropriety between students and teachers.“It creates the window, and sometimes it can be taken and twisted,” Martin said of teachers interacting with students online. “An ounce of precaution is worth a pound of cure.” Martin said he understands that many students are increasingly using Facebook to communicate and said he could see teachers finding a way to implement Internet communication in their lessons.Some schools elsewhere, for example, are experimenting with teacher Facebook pages that are separate from their personal pages. The teachers' professional pages can be used for classroom communication such as homework assignments or notification about internships or scholarships.Some local schools, such as Central Lafourche High, have official Facebook pages that administrators use to quickly transmit information about class cancellations, sporting events and other campus activities.But Martin said there's a big difference between connecting with students via a school Facebook page and becoming friends on a personal page. “I would not be opposed to it if we could do it safely,” he said. “If we could find a way to do it in an organized way that had some accountability, I wouldn't be opposed to it.”Nationally, other school districts have tried to implement even stricter standards. Missouri legislators last year passed a law that barred teachers from using websites that allow “exclusive access” with students 18 or younger.Teachers complained the measure was too broad, and a judge stopped the law from taking effect, saying it “would have a chilling effect” on free-speech rights. The Missouri Legislature repealed the law and passed a new one directing school districts to develop their own policies. Several of the state's districts enacted a model policy by the Missouri School Boards Association that requires staff members to use district-approved devices, which administrators could monitor.Online relations between students and teachers have sometimes led to trouble, and that is one reason more policies have been enacted. A theater teacher in Flordia was suspended last year for friending more than 100 students and posting sexually suggestive images and acronyms for profane words. In New York, a teacher commented on several of his female students' Facebook pages with remarks like “this is sexy.”But some current and former students locally say Facebook could be a good way to keep track of teachers after graduation. “How else are you going to keep in touch with your old teachers?” said Victoria Landry. “That might be last time you will get to talk to them.”

Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.

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